Modern riot control devices of non-lethal type include a variety of weapons and projectiles such as rubber bullets, cloth bags filled with shot, and water-filled plastic balls. These projectiles include special cartridges, special weapons and sabots of various shapes in which the projectile is nested during launch and which separate from the projectile after it leaves the muzzle of the launching device.
A characteristic problem of sabot-launched non-lethal projectiles is that the sabot which is fired from the launcher along with the projectile can cause more serious injury than the projectile. Thus, the sabot is a thrust transmitting carrier which imparts the total launching force to the projectile, hence, the sabot is typically of strong and rigid construction, and may be even stronger than the projectile itself. In such cases, when both leave the launcher muzzle, the sabot can be more hazardous to nearby personnel than the projectile.
Another problem is that the loading of the projectile and sabot into a launching device is often a rather delicate operation, since much care is required to insure uniform contact between the launcher barrel and the sabot so that asymmetrical forces will not adversely affect the expected trajectory of the projectile during launch. Under the emotional pressure of riot conditions, such delicacy of operative procedure to load individual grenades accurately and hastily requires a high degree of dexterity and considerable training. The time and expense involved in specialized training of this type is not available to many law-enforcement agencies. Moreover, reusable grenade launchers are generally of sturdy construction to resist the corrosion and wear associated with repeated use and frequent cleaning, all of which adds to their initial cost as well as maintenance costs.
As important recent development in riot control devices is the so-called ring airfoil grenade or RAG projectile disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,982,489, 3,951,070, and 3,877,383. The RAG projectile provides a flat trajectory profile with low velocity decay resulting in a high degree of accuracy. The sting RAG is relatively rigid and impacts a human target with disabling but non-lethal force, while the soft RAG may be filled with disabling chemical agents and does not involve any significant impact force. The invention disclosed herein will be illustratively described in connection with the foregoing type of riot control projectiles.